Method of processing channel information and receiver

ABSTRACT

A method of processing channel information and a receiver are disclosed. The receiver includes a first manager, a database, a channel manager, and a second manager. The first manager may receive a packet including service provider discovery information including service provider identification information, and a packet including service discovery information including content provider identification information and content service identification information and extracting the information included in the packets. The second manager may perform a control operation to form multi-part channel information using the identification information and receive a content service of a channel corresponding to the multi-part channel information.

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent ApplicationNos. 10-2007-0054906, filed on Jun. 5, 2007, 10-2007-0054907, filed onJun. 5, 2007, 10-2007-0054908, filed on Jun. 5, 2007 which is herebyincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Also, thisapplication also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/879,046, filed on Jan. 8, 2007, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of processing channelinformation and a receiver, and more particularly, to a method and areceiver capable of distinguishing various content channels from oneanother.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Existing television (TV) services have been provided in such a mannerthat contents produced by broadcasting stations are transmitted throughradio transmission media, such as terrestrial, cable or satellitebroadcasting, and the user watches the transmitted contents through a TVreceiver capable of receiving the transmitted contents via therespective transmission media.

However, as digital TV technologies based on digital broadcasting aredeveloped and are commercially available, breaking from existing analogbroadcasting, various types of content services, such as real-timebroadcasts, Contents on Demand (CoD), games and news, can be provided tothe user using an Internet network connected to each home, besides theexisting transmission media.

An Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) may be taken as an example of theprovision of content services using the Internet network. The IPTVrefers to a service that transmits and provides various informationservices, moving image contents, broadcast contents, etc. to the user'sTV using a very high-speed Internet network.

This IPTV is different from general terrestrial broadcasting orsatellite broadcasting in that bidirectionality is additionally providedand the user can watch a desired content service at his/her convenienttime.

However, in the case where an existing channel number management systemis applied to the IPTV as it is, there is a problem that characteristicsbased on the Internet network are not reflected and it is difficult tomake a distinction among various types of content services provided overthe Internet network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method of processingchannel information and a receiver that substantially obviate one ormore problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of processingchannel information and a receiver that can distinguish various contentchannels from one another.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, areceiver includes a first manager, a database, a channel manager, and asecond manager. The first manager may receive a packet including serviceprovider discovery information including service provider identificationinformation, and a packet including service discovery informationincluding content provider identification information and contentservice identification information and extracting the informationincluded in the packets. The database may store the extractedinformation. The channel manager may create and manage a channel mapusing the stored information. The second manager may perform a controloperation to form multi-part channel information using theidentification information included in the service provider discoveryinformation and the identification information included in the servicediscovery information and receive a content service of a channelcorresponding to the multi-part channel information with reference tothe channel map.

In another aspect of the present invention, a receiver comprises: afirst manager for parsing a packet including at least one of contentinformation and provider information to extract the information includedin the packet; a database for storing the extracted content informationand provider information; a channel manager for creating and managing achannel map using the stored information; and a second manager forreceiving a plurality of channel identification information, formingmulti-part channel information using the received channel identificationinformation, and connecting to a content service server of a channelcorresponding to the multi-part channel information using the channelmap.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of use of provider identificationinformation as a part of channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of use of region identificationinformation as a part of channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a region code table about region identificationinformation according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of use of content sourceidentification information as a part of channel information, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of use of content genreidentification information as a part of channel information, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of use of content datacharacteristic identification information as a part of channelinformation, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of use of channel levelidentification information as a part of channel information, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of use of region identificationinformation as a part of multi-part channel information, according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of use of content sourceidentification information as a part of multi-part channel information,according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of use of region identificationinformation and content source identification information as parts ofmulti-part channel information, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of use of provider identificationinformation, region identification information, and content sourceidentification information as parts of multi-part channel information,according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a view showing a record including information of a serviceprovider according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a view showing an implementation example of the record shownin FIG. 12 according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a view showing a record including content informationaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of areceiver according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process ofprocessing multi-part channel information, according to one embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. In thefollowing description of the present invention, a detailed descriptionof known functions and configurations incorporated herein will beomitted when it may make the subject matter of the invention ratherunclear.

Besides, although terms used in the present invention are possiblyselected from the currently well-known ones, some terms are arbitrarilychosen by the inventor in some cases so that their meanings areexplained in detail in the following description. Hence, the presentinvention should be understood with the intended meanings of thecorresponding terms chosen by the inventor instead of the simple namesor meanings of the terms themselves.

The operations of a method of processing channel information, method ofreceiving broadcast contents, and receiver according to the presentinvention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

An Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) system, which is an example of a systemcapable of providing various contents using the Internet, can be broadlydivided into a server, a network, and a receiver.

The server of the IPTV system includes servers taking charge of variousfunctions, such as a service discovery & selection information server, astreaming server, a contents guide information server, a customerinformation server and a payment information server.

The streaming server, among these servers, transmits Moving PictureExperts Group (MPEG)2 or MPEG4-encoded moving image data stored thereinto the user over the network. A Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP:RFC1889), RTP Control Protocol (RTCP: RFC3605), Real-Time StreamingProtocol (RTSP: RFC2326), etc. may be used as protocols for thetransmission.

Using the RTSP, the streaming server may control playback of a movingimage stream to some degree through a function called Network TrickPlay, including Pause, Replay, Stop, etc.

The contents guide information server is a server that providesinformation about various contents. The contents guide informationcorresponds to Electronic Program Guide (EPG) information and includesvarious information about contents. The contents guide informationserver stores contents guide information data and provides the storeddata to the receiver.

The service discovery & selection information server provides thereceiver with connection information, playback information, etc. aboutservers providing various content services such as broadcasting,Contents On Demand (COD) and games.

The network of the IPTV system includes an Internet-based network, andgateways. The gateways can perform multicast group management using anInternet Group Management Protocol (IGMP), etc., Quality of Service(QoS) management and so forth, as well as general data transfer.

The receiver of the IPTV system refers to a receiver capable ofreceiving data transmitted over the Internet network and providing thereceived data to the user. The receiver may be, for example, an IPTVsettop, homenet gateway, or IPTV-embedded TV.

In the case where the IPTV system is of a hybrid type, it can providevarious contents of the Internet, as well as various existing broadcastcontents. That is, the IPTV system can provide the user with variousbroadcast contents, such as a terrestrial broadcast, cable broadcast,satellite broadcast and private broadcast, or various Internet imagecontents and data contents, etc. These contents may be provided in realtime or on demand.

When the types of contents that can be provided as stated above becomemore various, it is difficult to distinguish various content channelsfrom one another with only an existing channel number system, and theuser may feel difficulty in selecting the content channels.

Therefore, differently from an existing channel information system thatidentifies each channel using a single number or distinguishes channelsfrom one another using major channel numbers and minor channel numbersof each major channel number, a feature of the present invention is toreadily distinguish various content channels from one another using achannel information system including a plurality of parts.

Each part is a channel information distinction unit, and may include anumber or a text corresponding to the number. Hereinafter, the channelinformation composed of a plurality of parts will be referred to asmulti-part channel information.

In the multi-part channel information system, the number, attributes,order, etc. of parts may be implemented in various ways in considerationof easiness of channel distinction, the user's convenience,characteristics of contents provided, etc. For example, the number ofparts may be 2 or more. Also, one or more new parts may be additionallyprovided under the condition that an existing number system is used forcompatibility with existing broadcasting systems. Hereinafter, adetailed example of the multi-part channel information will bedescribed.

FIG. 1 shows an example of use of provider identification information asa part of channel information, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

In terms of provision of a content service, the IPTV system can bedivided into a content provider (CP), service provider (SP), networkprovider (NP), and customer or user. The content provider creates andprovides various contents, and the service provider packages the variouscontents provided from the content provider into a service and providesthe packaged service. The network provider provides a network forprovision of the packaged service to the user. The user can construct aHome Network End User (HNED) to receive the service.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, channels of various contents can bedistinguished from one another using respective provider identificationinformation as one or more parts. That is, in the multi-part channelinformation, parts can be classified according to information about thetypes of the providers and channels can be distinguished from oneanother according to the classified parts. For example, in the casewhere content provider identification information is set as one part,channels of contents can be distinguished from one another according tothe types of content providers. Similarly, in the case where serviceprovider identification information or network provider identificationinformation is set as one part, channels of contents can bedistinguished from one another according to the types of serviceproviders or network providers.

In the example of FIG. 1, a code identifying each content provider (CP)is 0 to 999, and a code identifying each service provider (SP) is 0 to99. Also, a code identifying each network provider (NP) is 0 to 99, anda sequential number for channel identification at the user side is 0 to999. It is possible to identify the same number of providers of eachunit as that of identification numbers of each unit. When the number ofproviders of each unit increases, the number of identification numbersof each unit can increase. Thus, the number of identification numbers isnothing but one example, and the spirit of the present invention is notlimited thereto.

In this manner, the present invention can implement the multi-partchannel information using the provider identification information. Forexample, in the case of distinguishing content channels from one anotherusing all the information about the providers of the three types, it ispossible to implement 4-part channel information. When the 4-partchannel information is implemented, the channel information system has aformat such as ‘content provider’-‘service provider’-‘networkprovider’-‘sequential number’.

Assume that the code of ‘MBC’ which is one of the content providers is100, the code of ‘HanaTV’ which is one of the service providers is 2,and the code of ‘DACOM’ which is one of the network providers is 1. Inorder to watch a broadcast content of the MBC which is provided from theHanaTV using a DACOM network, the user can input ‘100-2-1-xxx’. When thesequential number at the user side for broadcast contents provided fromthe MBC is 003, the user can input ‘100-2-1-003’ to watch the desiredcontent. An existing broadcast channel number or the like may be used asthe sequential number. Also, the multi-part channel information, such as‘100-2-1-003’, may be displayed on a portion of the screen when thecorresponding content is displayed.

For the respective parts, texts corresponding to the code values may beused instead of the code values, and a combination of the code valuesand texts may also be used. For example, the 4-part channel informationmay have a format of ‘MBC-HanaTV-DACOM-003’ or ‘MBC-2-1-003’.

The multi-part channel information using the information of therespective providers is nothing but one example, and the order of theparts may be different or some of the parts may be omitted, according todifferent embodiments. For example, the multi-part channel informationmay have a 3-part format such as ‘service provider’-‘contentprovider’-‘sequential number’. In this case, the broadcast content ofthe MBC provided from the HanaTV can be selected or displayed by aformat such as ‘2-100-003’ or ‘2-MBC-003’.

Alternatively, one or more provider identification information and othertypes of information may be together used to implement the multi-partchannel information. For example, an existing channel number and theprovider identification information may be together used to implementthe multi-part channel information. The existing channel number is anidentification number used by each content provider, and may be a singlenumber or a number consisting of a major channel number and a minorchannel number.

For example, assume that ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing aterrestrial broadcast over a ‘11-1 (major channel-minor channel)’channel, provides a broadcast content to the IPTV user through ‘HanaTV’,which is an IPTV service provider. In the case where the user usesmulti-part channel information of a 2-part format such as ‘serviceprovider’-‘existing channel number’, he/she can watch the broadcastcontent of the KBS provided from the HanaTV by inputting ‘2-11-1’. Foreach part, a text corresponding to the code value may be used instead ofthe code value.

In each of the above examples, the types, number and order of parts arenothing but examples, and the number of parts may increase or reduce andthe types of parts may be changed, according to different embodiments.

The code values about each content provider, service provider andnetwork provider and about the sequential number at the user side mustbe predefined in the receiver. These values may be received and storedtogether with information about each provider when the information abouteach provider is received by the receiver.

FIG. 2 shows an example of use of region identification information as apart of channel information, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, content channels can bedistinguished from one another using content provision region codeinformation, service provision region code information, networkprovision region code information and user region code information asone or more parts.

For example, in the case where content provision region identificationinformation is set as one part, channels of contents can bedistinguished from one another according to regions where the contentsare provided. Similarly, in the case where service provision regionidentification information or network provision region identificationinformation is set as one part, channels of contents can bedistinguished from one another according to regions where the service ornetwork is provided.

FIG. 3 shows a region code table about region identification informationaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The region codetable may be, for example, an administrative computer network regioncode table that represents respective region codes of Korea. The regioncodes distinguishing regions from one another have an ‘AABBCCCC00’format, in which ‘AA’ represents information of a city or province unit,‘BB’ represents information of a city, county or district unit, and‘CCCC’ represents information of a town, myeon or dong unit. This regioncode system may be different according to countries, and the aboveexample is nothing but one embodiment. The region code table as statedabove may be prestored in the receiver, or be downloaded and stored inthe receiver by the user.

The region identification information and region codes as stated abovecan be used to implement multi-part channel information. For example,all the four types of region identification information may be used toimplement 4-part channel information such as ‘content provisionregion’-‘service provision region’-‘network provision region’-‘userregion’. Alternatively, the region identification information may beused as one or more parts to implement multi-part channel information.

For example, assume that two region identification information, ‘contentprovision region’-‘service provision region’, are used to implement2-part channel information. Provided that an IPTV service provider inJongno-gu Seoul provides a broadcast content provided in Seongsan-eupNamjeju-gun to the user, the user can watch the content provided inSeongsan-eup Namjeju-gun by inputting ‘4972025900-1111000000’. Here,‘4972025900’ is the region code of Seongsan-eup Namjeju-gun, and‘1111000000’ is the region code of Jongno-gu Seoul.

For the respective parts, texts corresponding to the code values may beused instead of the code values, and a combination of the code valuesand texts may also be used. For example, in the example of the 2-partchannel information, a format of ‘Seongsan-eup Namjeju-gun-1111000000’or ‘4972025900-Jongno-gu Seoul’ may be used.

The multi-part channel information using the respective regionidentification information is nothing but one example, and the order ofthe parts may be different or some of the parts may be omitted,according to different embodiments. Alternatively, the regionidentification information and other types of information may betogether used to implement the multi-part channel information.

Next, assume that the service provider identification informationdescribed in FIG. 1 and the region identification information describedin FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are used together. If the content provision regionidentification information and the service provider identificationinformation are used to implement 2-part channel information and theuser wants to watch a content provided in Seongsan-eup Namjeju-gun amongcontents provided from ‘HanaTV’, the user can watch the desired contentby inputting ‘4972025900-2’. Here, ‘4972025900’ is the region code ofSeongsan-eup Namjeju-gun, and the next ‘2’ is identification informationassigned to the ‘HanaTV’, which is a service provider.

Similarly, for the respective parts, texts corresponding to the codevalues may be used instead of the code values.

Alternatively, an existing channel number and the region identificationinformation may be together used to implement multi-part channelinformation.

For example, assume that ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing aterrestrial broadcast, provides a terrestrial broadcast content over a‘11-1 (major channel-minor channel)’ channel in Seongsan-eup Namjeju-gunand also provides a terrestrial broadcast content over the ‘11-1’channel in Jongno-gu Seoul. The channel number ‘11-1’ is an existingchannel number in each region to which the terrestrial broadcast of theKBS is applied.

If it is assumed that the ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider,provides both the KBS broadcast contents of the above regions, the usercan make a channel distinction using multi-part channel information of a3-part format such as ‘service provider’-‘content provisionregion’-‘existing channel number’.

That is, when the service provider code value of the HanaTV is 2, theuser can watch the KBS broadcast provided in Seongsan-eup Namjeju-gunthrough the HanaTV service by inputting ‘2-4972025900-11-1’. If the userinputs ‘2-1111000000-11-1’, he/she can watch the KBS broadcast providedin Jongno-gu Seoul through the HanaTV service.

In the case where the region identification information is used toimplement multi-part channel information, the code values about eachcontent provision region, each service provision region of each serviceprovider, each network provision region of each network provider andeach user region must be predefined in the receiver. Upon receivinginformation about each provider, the receiver receives the informationtogether with a code value about each region, and uses the receivedinformation and code values to distinguish channels of contents from oneanother. The receiver may compare the received code values with thevalues of the region code table as shown in FIG. 3 to express each partin text and make a channel distinction.

FIG. 4 shows an example of use of content source identificationinformation as a part of channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Contents provided through the IPTVservice may be provided from various types of sources. For example,various broadcast contents, such as a terrestrial broadcast, cablebroadcast, satellite broadcast and private broadcast, or variousInternet image contents and data contents, etc. on the Internet may beprovided.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, channels of various contents can bedistinguished from one another using source identification informationof the respective contents as one or more parts. That is, in multi-partchannel information, channels can be distinguished from one anotheraccording to the source types of the contents.

In the example of FIG. 4, a terrestrial broadcast content has a codevalue of 001, a cable broadcast content has a code value of 002, asatellite broadcast content has a code value of 003, a private broadcastcontent has a code value of 004, an educational institution broadcastcontent has a code value of 005, and other contents have a code value of999. It is possible to identify the same number of source types as thatof code values. When the number of source types increases, the number ofcode values can increase and the order thereof may also be changed.Thus, the number of code values is nothing but one example, and thespirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Multi-part channel information can be implemented using the contentsource identification information as one or more parts. For example, thecontent source identification information and an existing channel numbermay be used to implement multi-part channel information.

Assume that ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing a terrestrialbroadcast, provides a terrestrial broadcast content over a ‘11-1 (majorchannel-minor channel)’ channel, ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’, which is acable broadcasting company, provides cable broadcast contents over threechannels of numbers ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’, and ‘Skylife’, which is asatellite broadcasting company, provides satellite broadcast contentsover four channels of numbers ‘1’, ‘5’, ‘6’ and ‘10’. Here, the channelnumbers are existing channel numbers that the respective broadcastingcompanies use.

Hence, the user can make a channel distinction according to sourcesusing multi-part channel information of a 2-part format such as ‘contentsource’-‘existing channel number’. If it is assumed that each contentsource has a code value as shown in FIG. 4, the user can watch theterrestrial broadcast, the KBS broadcast, by inputting ‘001-11-1’. Also,the user can watch the cable broadcast, the channel 5 of the KangnamCable Broadcast, by inputting ‘002-5’, and the satellite broadcast, thechannel 5 of the Skylife by inputting ‘003-5’.

If the source code value of Internet image contents is defined as ‘006’,the user can watch a desired content by inputting a 2-part format suchas ‘006-IP address or channel number’. That is, the user can watch adesired Internet image content by personally inputting an IP address atwhich the desired Internet image content is stored or inputting achannel number defined correspondingly to the IP address.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. For example,assume that ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider, packages theterrestrial broadcast, cable broadcast, satellite broadcast and Internetimage content taken as the above examples into a service and providesthe packaged service to the user. In order to select and watch one ofthe contents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, theuser can use channel information of a 3-part format with a serviceprovider identification information indicating part added.

That is, channel information of a format such as ‘serviceprovider’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’ can be used.Assuming that the service provider code value of the HanaTV is 2, theuser can watch the terrestrial broadcast, the channel 11-1 of the KBS,provided from the HanaTV by inputting ‘2-001-11-1’, and the cablebroadcast, the channel 5 of the Kangnam Cable Broadcast, provided fromthe HanaTV by inputting ‘2-002-5’.

In the case where the source code value of the Internet image content isdefined as ‘006’, the user can watch the Internet image content providedfrom the HanaTV by inputting channel information such as ‘2-006-IPaddress or channel number’. In this case, the user can watch the desiredInternet image content by personally inputting an IP address at whichthe desired Internet image content is stored or inputting a channelnumber defined correspondingly to the IP address.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, for the respective parts,texts corresponding to the code values may be used instead of the codevalues.

The code values about the respective content sources must be predefinedin the receiver. These values may be received and stored together withinformation about content providers or service providers when theinformation is received by the receiver.

FIG. 5 shows an example of use of content genre identificationinformation as a part of channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Contents of various genres can beprovided through the IPTV service. Therefore, multi-part channelinformation can be implemented by distinguishing channels from oneanother according to the genres of the contents provided.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, channels of various contents can bedistinguished from one another using genre identification information ofthe respective contents as one or more parts. That is, in multi-partchannel information, channels can be distinguished from one anotheraccording to the genres of the contents.

In the example of FIG. 5, a content of a sports genre has a code valueof 001, a content of a movie genre has a code value of 002, a content ofa news genre has a code value of 003, a content of a drama genre has acode value of 004, a content of a documentary genre has a code value of005, and contents of other genres have a code value of 999. It ispossible to identify the same number of content genres as that of codevalues. When the number of content genres increases, the number of codevalues can increase and the order thereof may also be changed. Thus, thenumber of code values is nothing but one example, and the spirit of thepresent invention is not limited thereto.

The content genre identification information can be used as one or moreparts to implement multi-part channel information to manage and watchchannels according to content genres. For example, the content genreidentification information and an existing channel number may be used toimplement multi-part channel information.

Assume that ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing a terrestrialbroadcast, provides a sports broadcast content over a ‘11-2 (majorchannel-minor channel)’ channel, and ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’, which isa cable broadcasting company, provides a sports broadcast content over achannel ‘5’ and a movie content over a channel ‘6’, respectively. Here,the channel numbers are existing channel numbers that the respectivebroadcasting companies use.

The user can make a channel distinction according to content genresusing multi-part channel information of a 2-part format such as ‘contentgenre’-‘existing channel number’. If it is assumed that each contentgenre has a code value as shown in FIG. 5, the user can watch theterrestrial broadcast, the sports channel broadcast of the KBS, byinputting ‘001-11-2’. Also, the user can watch the sports channelbroadcast of the Kangnam Cable Broadcast by inputting ‘001-5’, and themovie channel broadcast of the Kangnam Cable Broadcast by inputting‘002-6’.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. For example,assume that ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider, packages thecontents taken as the above examples into a service and provides thepackaged service to the user. In order to select and watch one of thecontents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, theuser can use channel information of a 3-part format with a serviceprovider identification information indicating part added.

That is, channel information of a format such as ‘serviceprovider’-‘content genre’-‘existing channel number’ can be used.Assuming that the service provider code value of the HanaTV is 2, theuser can watch the terrestrial broadcast, the sports channel broadcastof the KBS, provided from the HanaTV by inputting ‘2-001-11-2’, and thecable broadcast, the sports channel broadcast of the Kangnam CableBroadcast, provided from the HanaTV by inputting ‘2-001-5’.

In the case where the content genres are used as two or more parts, itis possible to subdivide the content genres and make a channeldistinction based on the subdivided content genres. For example, assumethat ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing a terrestrial broadcast,provides a sports news content over a ‘11-3 (major channel-minorchannel)’ channel and a sports movie content over a ‘11-4’ channel,respectively, and ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’, which is a cablebroadcasting company, provides a sports news content over a channel ‘4’and a sports documentary content over a channel ‘5’, respectively. Here,the channel numbers are existing channel numbers that the respectivebroadcasting companies use.

By using multi-part channel information of a 3-part format such as‘content genre’-‘detailed content genre’-‘existing channel number’, theuser can subdivide the content genres and make a channel distinctionbased on the subdivided content genres. Assuming that each content genrehas a code value as shown in FIG. 5, the user can watch the terrestrialbroadcast, the sports news channel (11-3) broadcast of the KBS, byinputting ‘001-003-11-3’. Also, the user can watch the sports newschannel (4) broadcast of the Kangnam Cable Broadcast by inputting‘001-003-4’, and the sports documentary channel (5) broadcast of theKangnam Cable Broadcast by inputting ‘001-005-5’.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. For example,assume that ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider, packages thecontents taken as the above examples into a service and provides thepackaged service to the user. In order to select and watch one of thecontents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, theuser can use channel information of a 3-part format with a serviceprovider identification information indicating part added, such as‘service provider’-‘detailed content genre’-‘existing channel number’.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, for the respective parts,texts corresponding to the code values may be used instead of the codevalues.

The code values about the respective content genres must be predefinedin the receiver. These values may be received and stored together withinformation about content providers or service providers when theinformation is received by the receiver.

FIG. 6 shows an example of use of content data characteristicidentification information as a part of channel information, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. Data of contents providedthrough the IPTV service can have various formats. For example, variousvideo formats, audio formats, data broadcasting formats, etc. may beused. Therefore, multi-part channel information can be implemented bydistinguishing channels from one another according to the datacharacteristics of the contents provided. In this case, the user canmanage and watch channels in consideration of the specifications of thereceiver.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, channels of various contents can bedistinguished from one another using data characteristic identificationinformation of the respective contents as one or more parts. That is, inmulti-part channel information, channels can be distinguished from oneanother according to the data characteristics of the contents.

In the example of FIG. 6, content data is classified according to videoformats, audio formats and data broadcasting formats. In the case of thevideo formats, content data of a ‘1920*1080p’ format has a code value of001, content data of a ‘1366*768’ format has a code value of 002,content data of a ‘1280*800’ format has a code value of 003, and contentdata of a ‘640*480’ format has a code value of 099.

In the case of the audio formats, content data of an ‘AC3 Dolby 5.1channel’ format has a code value of 001, content data of an ‘MPEGsurround audio channel’ format has a code value of 002, content data ofan ‘MP3 stereo’ format has a code value of 003, and content data of a‘MONO’ format has a code value of 099.

In the case of the data broadcasting formats, content data having onlyaudio/video data has a code value of 001, content data of an ‘AdvancedCommon Application Platform (ACAP) data broadcasting’ format has a codevalue of 002, content data of an ‘OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP)data broadcasting’ format has a code value of 003, and content data of a‘data only broadcasting’ format has a code value of 009.

It is possible to identify the same number of content datacharacteristics as that of code values. When the number of format typesincreases, the number of code values can increase and the order thereofmay also be changed. Thus, the number of code values is nothing but oneexample, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto.Also, the audio, video and data broadcasting formats are examples of thecontent data characteristics, and the content data may be classifiedaccording to other characteristics.

The content data characteristic identification information can be usedas one or more parts to implement multi-part channel information tomanage and watch channels. For example, the content data characteristicidentification information and an existing channel number may be used toimplement multi-part channel information.

Assume that ‘KBS’, which is a broadcaster providing a terrestrialbroadcast, provides a broadcast content of the 1920*1080p video format,AC3 Dolby 5.1 channel audio format and audio/video data onlybroadcasting format over a ‘11-1 (major channel-minor channel)’ channel,and ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’, which is a cable broadcasting company,provides a broadcast content of the 1280*800 video format, MPEG surroundaudio channel audio format and audio/video data only broadcasting formatover a channel ‘5’. Also, assume that the ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’provides a broadcast content of the 1920*1080p video format, MPEGsurround audio channel audio format and OCAP data broadcasting formatover a channel ‘6’. Here, the channel numbers are existing channelnumbers that the respective broadcasting companies use.

The user can make a channel distinction according to content datacharacteristics using multi-part channel information of a 2-part formatsuch as ‘content data characteristic’-‘existing channel number’. Thecode values of the video formats, audio formats and data broadcastingformats can be used for the content data characteristics.

Assuming that each content data characteristic has a code value as shownin FIG. 6 and a channel distinction is made according to the videoformats, the user can watch the terrestrial broadcast, the channel 11-1broadcast content of the KBS, among contents of the 1920*1080p videoformat by inputting ‘001-11-1’. If the user inputs ‘001-6’, he/she canwatch the cable broadcast, the channel 6 broadcast content of theKangnam Cable Broadcast, among contents of the 1920*1080p video format.

In the case where the channel distinction is made according to the audioformats, the user can watch the cable broadcast, the channel 5 broadcastcontent of the Kangnam Cable Broadcast, among contents of the MPEGsurround audio channel audio format by inputting ‘002-5’. Also, the usercan watch the channel 6 broadcast content of the Kangnam Cable Broadcastamong contents of the MPEG surround audio channel audio format byinputting ‘002-6’.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. For example,assume that ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider, packages thecontents taken as the above examples into a service and provides thepackaged service to the user. In order to select and watch one of thecontents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, theuser can use channel information of a 3-part format with a serviceprovider identification information indicating part added, such as‘service provider’-‘content data characteristic’-‘existing channelnumber’.

The content data characteristics may be used as two or more parts, like‘content data characteristic-‘content data characteristic’-‘existingchannel number’. In this case, different types of characteristic codevalues are used for the respective content data characteristics.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, for the respective parts,texts corresponding to the code values may be used instead of the codevalues.

The code values about the respective content data characteristics mustbe predefined in the receiver. These values may be received and storedtogether with information about content providers or service providerswhen the information is received by the receiver.

FIG. 7 shows an example of use of channel level identificationinformation as a part of channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Contents provided through the IPTVservice can be provided to the user discriminately according to levels.For example, contents may be provided discriminately according towatching levels or watching cost levels of the contents. Therefore,multi-part channel information can be implemented by distinguishingcontents and channels from one another according to the above levels. Inthis case, the user can manage and watch channels in consideration ofthe watching levels or watching cost levels.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, various contents and channels can bedistinguished from one another using watching cost level identificationinformation as one or more parts. That is, in multi-part channelinformation, channels can be distinguished from one another according tothe watching cost levels.

In the example of FIG. 7, a free channel has a code value of 001, abasic channel has a code value of 002, a middle class channel has a codevalue of 003, a premium light channel has a code value of 004, a highpremium channel has a code value of 005, and other channels have a codevalue of 999. It is possible to identify the same number of levels asthat of code values. The number of code values can increase or reduceand the order thereof may also be changed. Thus, the number of levels orthe number of code values is nothing but one example, and the spirit ofthe present invention is not limited thereto.

The channel level identification information as stated above can be usedas one or more parts to implement multi-part channel information. It isalso possible to manage and watch channels using the implementedmulti-part channel information. For example, the watching cost levelidentification information among the channel level identificationinformation and an existing channel number may be used to implementmulti-part channel information.

Assume that, among broadcast contents of channels ‘1’ to ‘50’ providedby ‘Kangnam Cable Broadcast’, which is a cable broadcasting company, theuser can watch the channels ‘1’ to ‘10’ when paying no watching cost,the channels ‘1’ to ‘20’ when paying a basic watching cost, the channels‘1’ to ‘30’ when paying a middle class watching cost, the channels ‘1’to ‘40’ when paying a premium light class watching cost, and thechannels ‘1’ to ‘50’ when paying a high premium class watching cost.Here, the channel numbers are existing channel numbers that the KangnamCable Broadcast uses for cable broadcasts.

The user can make a channel distinction according to channel levelsusing multi-part channel information of a 2-part format such as ‘channellevel’-‘existing channel number’.

Assuming that each channel level has a code value as shown in FIG. 7,the user can watch the broadcast content of the channel 34 provided bythe Kangnam Cable Broadcast by inputting ‘004-34’ when he/she pays thepremium light class watching cost. Also, the user can watch thebroadcast content of the channel 11 by inputting ‘004-11’. The highpremium class (code value 005) only channels (channels 41 to 50) may beexcluded from the channel list.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. For example,assume that ‘HanaTV’, which is an IPTV service provider, packages thecontents taken as the above examples into a service and provides thepackaged service to the user. In order to select and watch one of thecontents provided by the HanaTV among various service providers, theuser can use channel information of a 3-part format with a serviceprovider identification information indicating part added, such as‘service provider’-‘channel level’-‘existing channel number’.

Similarly, in each of the above examples, for the respective parts,texts corresponding to the code values may be used instead of the codevalues.

The code values about the respective channel levels must be predefinedin the receiver. These values may be received and stored together withinformation about content providers or service providers when theinformation is received by the receiver.

The types of information usable in the respective parts in themulti-part channel information system have been described with referenceto FIG. 1 to FIG. 7. As in the above-described examples, the respectiveinformation may be individually used to implement multi-part channelinformation or the respective information may be combined to implementmulti-part channel information.

For example, in the case of using 3-part channel information such as‘content provision region’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’,the user can select and watch a content, such as a terrestrial, cable orsatellite broadcast, provided in each region. In order to select andwatch a content provided by a specific service provider among aplurality of IPTV service providers, the user can use 4-part channelinformation such as ‘service provider’-‘content provisionregion’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’.

Here, the number, order, types, etc. of parts are nothing but examplesand may be different according to different embodiments. That is, theorder of the parts in the 4-part channel information taken as the aboveexample may be changed like ‘content provision region’-‘serviceprovider’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’ or ‘contentsource’-‘existing channel number’-‘service provider’-‘content provisionregion’. In addition, in the case where no content source identificationinformation is used, 3-part channel information such as ‘serviceprovider’-‘content provision region’-‘existing channel number’ may beimplemented and used.

FIG. 8 shows an example of use of region identification information as apart of multi-part channel information, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The IPTV system can be divided into a contentprovider (CP), a service provider (SP), a network provider (NP), and ahome network end user (HNED) or customer, in terms of the provision ofcontent services.

The HNED or customer connects to the service provider via an IPTVreceiver (or a client), to receive information about content providers.Using the information about content providers, the HNED or customer canconnect to the server of a content provider providing a content desiredby the HNED or customer, to watch the content.

In the example of FIG. 8, a first terrestrial broadcaster as one ofcontent providers provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels‘7-1(major channel-minor channel)’, ‘7-2’ and ‘7-3’ in a Chicago region,and provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘7-1’, ‘7-2’ and ‘7-5’in a New York region. A second terrestrial broadcaster as anothercontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels‘32-1(major channel-minor channel)’ and ‘32-5’ in the Chicago region,and provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘33-1’ and ‘33-2’ inthe New York region. Where the broadcasting regions of the first andsecond terrestrial broadcasters are different from each other, the firstand second terrestrial broadcasters may transmit broadcasts, using thesame channel number or different channel numbers.

The service provider packages the broadcast contents provided by thefirst and second terrestrial broadcasters into a service, and providesthe packaged service to the HNED or customer over an Internet network.The network provider provides the Internet network for theabove-described services.

When it is assumed that an HNED or customer, who resides in San Diego,desires to watch broadcast contents provided by the first terrestrialbroadcaster, the service provider, who provides IPTV services to theHNED or customer, must provide both the broadcast contents of the firstterrestrial broadcaster provided in the Chicago region and the broadcastcontents of the first terrestrial broadcaster provided in the New Yorkregion. To this end, it is necessary to make a distinction between thebroadcasts provided in the Chicago region and the broadcasts provided inthe New York region at the side of the HNED or customer.

In the example of FIG. 8, this requirement can be satisfied, using codevalues about content provision regions as a part of multi-part channelinformation. For example, 2-part channel information such as ‘contentprovision region’-‘existing channel number’ information may be used. The‘content provision region’-‘existing channel number’ information can becreated, using information about the content provision region, togetherwith the existing channel number.

For example, where the content provision region code value of Chicago is110, and the content provision region code value of New York is 497, theHNED or customer can watch the content of the channel ‘7-2’ selectedfrom among the broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcasterprovided in Chicago, by inputting a value of 110-7-2. When the HNED orcustomer inputs a value of 497-7-2, it is possible to watch the contentof the channel ‘7-2’ selected from among the broadcast contents of thefirst terrestrial broadcaster provided in New York.

The above-described 2-part channel information has been specified onlyfor illustrative purposes. The order of the parts in the channelinformation may be changed. In addition, each part may be represented bya text, instead of a numeral value. For example, 2-part channelinformation having an order of ‘existing channel number’-‘contentprovision region’ may be used. Also, channel information having acombination of a numeral and a text, may be created, using a text suchas ‘Chicago’ or ‘New York’. For example, channel information‘7-2-Chicago’ may be used.

FIG. 9 shows an example of use of content source identificationinformation as a part of multi-part channel information, according toone embodiment of the present invention. The content sourceidentification information means information about the type of a contentprovider. There may be various types of content providers, for example,types of providers of terrestrial broadcast contents, cable broadcastcontents, satellite broadcast contents, Internet broadcast contents,various image data contents, and data contents other than image datacontents. In the example of FIG. 9, channels can be distinguished fromone another in accordance with the above-described content sources.

In the example of FIG. 9, a first terrestrial broadcaster as one contentprovider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘5-1’, ‘5-2’, and‘5-3’. On the other hand, a second terrestrial broadcaster as anothercontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘32-1’and ‘32-5’. A cable multiple system operator (MSO) as another contentprovider provides various cable broadcasts over channels ‘4’, ‘5’, ‘6’,. . . , and ‘121’. A satellite broadcast provider provides varioussatellite broadcasts over channels ‘1’, ‘5’, ‘6’, . . . , and ‘130’.Also, there may be various Internet broadcasters providing Internetbroadcast contents other than the above-described broadcast contents,and private content providers providing contents such as Internetimages.

The service provider packages the image contents, provided by the firstand second terrestrial broadcasters, cable MSO, satellite broadcaster,various Internet broadcasters, and private content providers, etc., intoa service, and provides the packaged service to the HNED or customerover an Internet network.

When it is assumed that an HNED or customer desires to watch broadcastcontents provided by the first terrestrial broadcaster, from among thecontents provided by the above-described various service providers, theservice provider, who provides IPTV services to the HNED or customer,must provide all the broadcast contents provided by the firstterrestrial broadcaster, second terrestrial broadcaster, cable MSO,satellite broadcast provider, various Internet broadcasters, and privatecontent providers, etc. In this case, there may the same existingchannel number for different content providers. To this end, it isnecessary to make a distinction among the contents in terms of thecontent provider type.

In the example of FIG. 9, this requirement can be satisfied, using codevalues about content sources as a part of multi-part channelinformation. For example, 2-part channel information such as ‘contentsource’-‘existing channel number’ information may be used. The ‘contentsource’-‘existing channel number’ information can be created, usinginformation about the content source, together with the existing channelnumber.

For example, it is assumed that a terrestrial broadcast content has acode value of 001, a cable broadcast content has a source code value of002, a satellite broadcast content has a source code value of 003, and aprivate broadcast content has a source code value of 004.

In this case, when the HNED or customer inputs a value of 001-5-2,he/she can watch the content of the channel ‘5-2’ selected from amongthe broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcaster. When theHNED or customer inputs a value of 002-5, it is possible to watch thecontent of the channel ‘5’ selected from among the broadcast contentsprovided by the cable MSO. Upon inputting a value of 003-5, the HNED canwatch the content of the channel ‘5’ selected from among the broadcastcontents provided by the satellite broadcaster.

For an Internet broadcast content or private content, a channel numbermay be used, if there is an existing channel number corresponding to thechannel number. An IP address, at which the content is stored, may alsobe used. If there is no existing channel number, the IP address, atwhich the content is stored, may be input.

The above-described 2-part channel information has been specified onlyfor illustrative purposes. The order of the parts in the channelinformation may be changed. In addition, each part may be represented bya text, instead of a numeral value. Alternatively, each part may berepresented by a combination of a numeral and a text. For example,2-part channel information having an order of ‘existing channelnumber’-‘content source’ may be used. Also, channel information having anumeral-text combination may be created, using a text such as ‘cablebroadcast’ for the content source part, instead of the correspondingsource code value. For example, channel information ‘5-cable broadcast’may be used.

FIG. 10 shows an example of use of region identification information andcontent source identification information as parts of multi-part channelinformation, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Inthe example of FIG. 10, multi-part channel information is implementedusing both the region identification information and content sourceidentification information.

In the example of FIG. 10, a first terrestrial broadcaster as onecontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘5-1’,‘5-2’, and ‘5-3’ in a Chicago region, and also provides terrestrialbroadcasts over the channels ‘5-1’, ‘5-2’ and ‘5-3’ in a New Yorkregion. On the other hand, a second terrestrial broadcaster as anothercontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘32-1’and ‘32-5’ in the Chicago region, and also provides terrestrialbroadcasts over the channels ‘32-1’ and ‘32-5’ in the New York region.Where the broadcasting regions of the first and second terrestrialbroadcasters are different from each other, the first and secondterrestrial broadcasters may transmit broadcasts, using the same channelnumber or different channel numbers.

Also, there may be various Internet broadcasters providing Internetbroadcast contents other than the above-described broadcast contents,and private content providers providing contents such as Internetimages.

The service provider packages broadcast contents provided by the firstand second terrestrial broadcasters, contents such as Internet imagesprovided by various Internet broadcasters, and contents provided byprivate content providers into a service, and provides the packagedservice to the HNED or customer over an Internet network. The networkprovider provides the Internet network for the above-described services.

When it is assumed that an HNED or customer, who resides in San Diego,desires to watch broadcast contents provided by the first terrestrialbroadcaster, the service provider, who provides IPTV services to theHNED or customer, must provide all the broadcast contents of the firstand second terrestrial broadcasters provided in the Chicago region, thebroadcast contents of the first and second terrestrial broadcastersprovided in the New York region, and the contents provided by variousInternet broadcasters and private content providers. For this reason,there may be the same existing channel number for different contentprovider types or different content provision regions. To this end, itis necessary to make a distinction among the contents at the side of theHNED or customer, in terms of the content provider type and contentprovision region.

In the example of FIG. 10, this requirement can be satisfied, using codevalues about content provision regions and code values about contentsources as parts of multi-part channel information. For example, 3-partchannel information such as ‘content provision region’-‘contentsource’-‘existing channel number’ information may be used. The ‘contentprovision region’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’ informationcan be created, using information about the content provision region andcontent source, together with the existing channel number.

For example, it is assumed that the content provision region code valueof Chicago is 110, the content provision region code value of New Yorkis 497, a terrestrial broadcast content has a source code value of 001,and an Internet broadcast or private content has a source code value of004.

In this case, when the HNED or customer inputs a value of 110-001-5-1,he/she can watch the content of the channel ‘5-1’ selected from amongthe broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcaster provided inChicago. When the HNED or customer inputs a value of 497-002-5-2, it ispossible to watch the contents of the channel ‘5-2’ selected from amongthe broadcast contents of the first terrestrial broadcaster provided inNew York.

For the Internet broadcast contents or private contents, it may beunnecessary to make a distinction among content provision regions, byvirtue of the characteristics of the Internet. In this case, it ispossible to make a distinction among channels, using only the 2 parts ofthe 3-part channel information, namely, ‘content source’ and ‘existingchannel number’, without using the content provision regionidentification information part.

For an Internet broadcast content or private content, a channel numbermay be used, if there is an existing channel number corresponding to thechannel number. An IP address, at which the content is stored, may alsobe used. If there is no existing channel number, the IP address, atwhich the content is stored, may be input.

The above-described 3-part channel information has been specified onlyfor illustrative purposes. The order of the parts in the channelinformation may be changed. In addition, each part may be represented bya text, instead of a numeral value. Alternatively, each part may berepresented by a combination of a numeral and a text.

FIG. 11 shows an example of use of provider identification information,region identification information, and content source identificationinformation as parts of multi-part channel information, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 11,multi-part channel information is implemented using the provideridentification information, region identification information, andcontent source identification information.

Where there are a plurality of service providers each packagingbroadcast contents provided by content providers into a service, andproviding the packaged service to the HNED or customer over an Internetnetwork, the HNED or customer can receive such a service from at leastone service provider selected from among the service providers aftersubscribing to the selected service provider. Thus, the HNED or customercan receive a desired content after selecting a service corresponding tothe content from among subscribed services.

In the example of FIG. 11, a first terrestrial broadcaster as onecontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘5-1’,‘5-2’, and ‘5-3’ in a Chicago region, and also provides terrestrialbroadcasts over the channels ‘5-1’, ‘5-2’ and ‘5-3’ in a New Yorkregion. On the other hand, a second terrestrial broadcaster as anothercontent provider provides terrestrial broadcasts over channels ‘32-1’and ‘32-5’ in the Chicago region, and also provides terrestrialbroadcasts over the channels ‘32-1’ and ‘32-5’ in the New York region.Where the broadcasting regions of the first and second terrestrialbroadcasters are different from each other, the first and secondterrestrial broadcasters may transmit broadcasts, using the same channelnumber or different channel numbers.

A cable MSO in a Los Angeles region as another content provider providescable broadcasts over channels ‘4’, ‘5’, ‘6’, . . . , and ‘121’. Also,there may be various Internet broadcasters providing Internet broadcastcontents other than the above-described broadcast contents, and privatecontent providers providing contents such as Internet images.

A first service provider (SP) provides packages broadcast contentsprovided in Chicago and New York by the first and second terrestrialbroadcasters, contents provided by various Internet broadcasters, andcontents provided by private content providers into a service, andprovides the packaged service to the HNED or customer over an Internetnetwork. A second service provider (SP) provides packages broadcastcontents provided in New York by the first and second terrestrialbroadcasters, broadcast contents provided in a Los Angeles region by thecable MSO, and contents provided by various Internet broadcasters andprivate content providers into a service, and provides the packagedservice to the HNED or customer over an Internet network.

For this reason, there may be the same existing channel number fordifferent service providers, different content provider types, anddifferent content provision regions. To this end, it is necessary tomake a distinction among the contents at the side of the HNED orcustomer, in terms of the content provider type and content provisionregion.

In the example of FIG. 11, this requirement can be satisfied, using codevalues about service providers, code values about content provisionregions, and code values about content sources as parts of multi-partchannel information. For example, 4-part channel information such as‘service provider’-‘content provision region’-‘content source’-‘existingchannel number’ information may be used. The ‘service provider’-‘contentprovision region’-‘content source’-‘existing channel number’ informationcan be created, using information about the service provider, contentprovision region, and content source, together with the existing channelnumber.

For example, it is assumed that an HNED or customer residing in SanDiego has subscribed to services of the first and second serviceproviders selected from among a plurality of service providers, anddesires to watch a broadcast content of the first terrestrialbroadcaster.

It is also assumed that the first service provider has a code value of200, the second service provider has a code value of 301, Chicago has acontent provision region code value of 110, New York has a contentprovision region code value of 497, Los Angeles has a content provisionregion code value of 217, a terrestrial broadcast content has a sourcecode value of 001, a cable broadcast content has a source code value of002, and an Internet broadcast or private content has a source codevalue of 004.

In this case, when the HNED or customer inputs a value of200-110-001-5-1, he/she can watch the ‘5-1’-channel broadcast content ofthe first terrestrial broadcaster provided in Chicago and selected fromamong the contents provided by the first service provider. When the HNEDor customer inputs a value of 301-497-002-5-2, it is possible to watchthe contents of the ‘5-2’-channel broadcast content of the firstterrestrial broadcaster provided in New York and selected from among thecontents provided by the second service provider. Upon inputting a valueof 301-217-002-6, the HNED or customer can watch the contents of the‘6’-channel broadcast content of the cable MSO provided in Los Angelesand selected from among the contents provided by the second serviceprovider.

For the Internet broadcast contents or private contents, it may beunnecessary to make a distinction among content provision regions, byvirtue of the characteristics of the Internet. In this case, it ispossible to make a distinction among channels, using only the 3 parts ofthe 4-part channel information, namely, ‘service provider’, ‘contentsource’, and ‘existing channel number’, without using the contentprovision region identification information part.

For an Internet broadcast content or private content, a channel numbermay be used, if there is an existing channel number corresponding to thechannel number. An IP address, at which the content is stored, may alsobe used. If there is no existing channel number, the IP address, atwhich the content is stored, may be input.

The above-described 4-part channel information has been specified onlyfor illustrative purposes. The order of the parts in the channelinformation may be changed. In addition, each part may be represented bya text, instead of a numeral value.

FIG. 12 shows a record including information of a service provideraccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The receiver isable to receive various information of a content provider, networkprovider and service provider via the above-mentioned record, and at thesame time is able to store the same information. For example, theabove-mentioned information stored in the receiver may include regionidentification information, provider identification information, channellevel identification information, provider connection information, etc.

In order to provide the user with content data, the receiver must searchfor a content server having user-desired content data stored therein,and must connect to the searched content server. The receiver mayconnect to an entry point of an IPTV portal (or system operator (SO))provided from the network provider. The entry point is indicative of akind of access point. The user may enter either the IP address/port ofthe entry point of the IPTV portal or a domain name system (DNS) uniformresource locator (URL), or may selectively enter a pre-registeredaddress. Otherwise, the receiver may automatically access thepre-selected address.

At the entry point of the IPTV portal, the service provider recordincluding each of service provider information is transmitted to thereceiver.

FIG. 12 shows the service provider discovery record of the digital videobroadcasting (DVB)-IP. The above-mentioned service provider discoveryrecord is considered to be a preferred embodiment including the provideridentification information, the provider connection information, etc.

In the above-mentioned example, information of the service providerdiscovery record is contained in the “serviceDiscovery”. “@Version” isindicative of version information of the record. If the versioninformation is changed, this indicates that data of the above-mentionedrecord has been changed. “LogicalEntryNumber” includes logical numberinformation of the entry point transferring the service providerdiscovery record. The above-mentioned logical number information may beadapted to identify the network provider in multi-part channelinformation.

The information of the service provider is contained in the“ServiceDiscovery/ServicProviderDiscovery/ServiceProvider”.

“@DomainName” includes Internet DNS domain name information of theservice provider. This Internet DNS domain name information is used toidentify the service provider. “@Version includes version information ofthe service provider discovery record. “@LogoURI” includes a pointer tothe logo of the service provider.

“Name” includes a name of the service provider. The service provider'sname may be provided in one or more languages. “Description” includesdescription information associated with the service provider. Theabove-mentioned description information of the service provider may beprovided in one or more languages.

“Offering List” information of the service provider is contained in“ServiceDiscovery/ServicProviderDiscovery/ServiceProvider/Offering”.

“Push@Source” “Push@Address”, and “Push@Port” include a port number forproviding the DVB IP offering record in multicast (i.e., push mode), andinformation of the IP address. The “DVB IP offering” record includes notonly Internet DNS domain name information for identifying the serviceprovider, but also version information of the above-mentioned record.

“Push@Location” includes address information for providing the DVB IPoffering record upon receipt of a specific request (i.e., pull mode).

In the case of the pull mode, the “Payload list” information of theabove-mentioned record is contained in the“ServiceDiscovery/ServicProviderDiscovery/ServiceProvider/Offering/Pull/Payload”.In the case of the push mode, the “Payload list” information of theabove-mentioned record is contained in the“ServiceDiscovery/ServicProviderDiscovery/ServiceProvider/Offering/Push/Payload”.

“PayloadId@Id” includes identifier (ID) information of the servicediscovery information type for use in the DVB IP offering. There are avariety of service discovery information types, for example, a broadcastdiscovery record or a CoD (Content on Demand) discovery record, etc.

“Segment@Id” includes ID information of a segment including servicediscovery information corresponding to the above-mentioned“PayloadId@Id”. “Segment@Version” includes version information of asegment identified by the above-mentioned ID information.

“LogicalSPNumber” includes logical number information of the serviceprovider. This “LogicalSPNumber” information may be used as informationfor identification of the service provider in the multi-part channelinformation.

In the record of FIG. 12, “@DomainName”, “@Version”, and “Name”information must be contained mandatorily. In the case of using“Push@Source” information, the record of FIG. 12 must include“Push@Address” and the Push@Port” information. However, it should benoted that the “Push@Source” is optionally used. If the above-mentionedrecord information is provided to the user during only the pull mode,the record of FIG. 12 must mandatorily include the “Segment@Id”.Otherwise, if the above-mentioned record information is provided to theuser during only the push mode, the above-mentioned “Segment@Id” isoptionally used. The remaining information other than the aforementionedinformation is optionally used.

FIG. 13 shows an implementation example of the record shown in FIG. 12according to one embodiment of the present invention. In more detail,FIG. 13 shows the implementation example of the above-mentioned recordusing the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), which includes the provideridentification information, the provider connection information, etc.,according to the record structure of FIG. 12.

“LogicalEntryNumber” includes a logical number “1” of the entry pointwhich has transmitted the service provider discovery record.

A lower part of the “ServiceProviderDiscovery” includes information ofeach service provider. A first “ServiceProvider” field includesconnection information, logical number information, etc. of a firstservice provider.

The “Name” field of FIG. 13 includes the service provider's domain name“provider1.com”, the pointer of the service provider's logo, and versioninformation. In addition, the “Name” field further includes the serviceprovider's name “Provider1”. “Description” includes “provider1 ADSL TVOffer” indicating the description of the service provider.“LogicalSPNumber” includes the logical number information “1” foridentifying the first service provider.

A first “Push” includes not only the IP address (224.1.1.5)/Port number(1234) capable of receiving the DVB IP offering record under themulticast (i.e., push mode), but also the source address(192.100.100.70). The “Payload Id” located at a lower part of the first“Push” includes ID information of record information received from theabove-mentioned address. In FIG. 13, specific information, which has thevalue of 5 and ID information of the value “5”, is indicative of apackage discovery record. The ID information of the segment includingthe package discovery record is “0”, and its version information is “0”.

A second “Push” includes the IP address (224.1.1.2)/Port number (1234)capable of receiving another DVB IP offering record under the multicast(i.e., push mode). The “Payload Id” located at a lower part of thesecond “Push” includes ID information of record information receivedfrom the above-mentioned address. In FIG. 13, specific information,which has the value of 2 and ID information of the value “2”, isindicative of a broadcast discovery record. The ID information of thesegment including the broadcast discovery record is “0”, and its versioninformation is “0”.

The second “ServiceProvider” located at a lower part of the“ServiceProviderDiscovery” includes connection information of the secondservice provider, etc.

The “Name” field includes the service provider's domain name“provider2.com”, the pointer of the service provider's logo, and versioninformation. In addition, the “Name” field further includes the serviceprovider's English name “Provider2”. “Description” includes “provider2ADSL TV Offer” indicating the description of the service provider.“LogicalSPNumber” includes the logical number information “2” foridentifying the second service provider.

The first “Push” includes not only the IP address (224.1.1.6)/Portnumber (1234) capable of receiving the DVB IP offering record under themulticast (i.e., push mode), but also the source address(192.100.100.75). Specific information contained in the “Payload Id” ofthe first “Push” has the value of 5, and this information is indicativeof a package discovery record including the above-mentioned IDinformation. The above-mentioned “Payload Id” includes ID information ofa segment including the package discovery record, and its versioninformation.

The second “Push” includes the IP address (224.1.1.2)/Port number (1234)capable of receiving another DVB IP offering record under the multicast(i.e., push mode). Specific information contained in the “Payload Id” ofthe second “Push” has the value of 5, and this information is indicativeof a broadcast discovery record including the above-mentioned IDinformation. The above-mentioned “Payload Id” includes ID information ofa segment including the broadcast discovery record, and its versioninformation.

The receiver receives the service provider discovery record, and storesthe provider identification information and the connection informationcontained in the record. If additional information (e.g., the regionidentification information, the channel level identificationinformation, etc.) other than the above-mentioned information arefurther contained in the record, the receiver further stores theabove-mentioned additional information. The receiver creates a channelmap using the above-mentioned stored information, and uses the channelmap to make a channel distinction according to multi-part channelinformation.

The receiver analyzes the service provider discovery record and thusconnects to a server of a service provider that provides a servicedesired by the user. Then, the service provider provides a servicediscovery record including content information to the receiver.

FIG. 14 shows a record including content information according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The receiver is able toreceive/store a variety of information of contents via theabove-mentioned record. For example, the information may includeprovider identification information, region identification information,content source identification information, content genre identificationinformation, content data characteristic identification information,channel level identification information, provider connectioninformation, etc.

FIG. 14 shows a broadcast discovery record of DVB-IP as an example ofthe service discovery record. The broadcast discovery record of FIG. 14includes content source identification information, content provideridentification information, content provision region identificationinformation, content data characteristic identification information,provider connection information, etc. The above-mentioned servicediscovery record refers to a discovery record of a content service.

There are a variety of service discovery records of the DVB-IP, i.e., aContent On Demand (COD) discovery record, a package discovery record,etc. The broadcast discovery record includes live media contentinformation such as a real-time video stream.

In the above-mentioned example, the broadcast discovery recordinformation is contained in the “BroadcastDiscovery”. The service listinformation is contained in the “BroadcastDiscovery/ServiceList”.

If BCG record's ID information associated with the BCG (BroadbandContent Guide) discovery exists, “ServiceDescriptionLocation” includesthe above-mentioned ID information, and “@preferred” includes locationinformation of a preferred BCG. The BCG includes content guideinformation of the DVB-IP corresponding to an electronic program guide(EPG).

Various information of the content service is contained in“BroadcastDiscovery/ServiceList/SingleService”.

“SourceType” includes information for identifying a source, e.g., aterrestrial broadcast, satellite broadcast or cable broadcast withrespect to a specific content service. “LogicalChannelNumber” includeslogical number information of each content service. The above-mentionedinformation may also be used as content source identificationinformation and content provider identification information in themulti-part channel information, respectively. “RegionNumber” includesinformation of a region where the content service is provided. Thisinformation may also be used as content provision region identificationinformation in the multi-part channel information.

“TextualID@DomainName” includes an Internet DNS domain name foridentifying a service provider. “TextualID@ServiceName” includes a hostname of a service provided from the service provider.

“DVBTriplet” includes DVB Triplet information associated with theservice. Specifically, “DVBTriplet@OrigNetId” includesoriginal_network_id information. “DVBTriplet@TSId” includestransport_stream_id information. “DVBTriplet@@ServiceId” includesservice_id information. “MaxBitrate” includes maximum bit rateinformation of a stream transferring the service.

Location information of the content service is contained in“BroadcastDiscovery/ServiceList/SingleService/ServiceLocation”.

“IPMulticastAddress@Source”, “IPMulticastAddress@Address”, and“IPMulticastAddress@Port” inform the user that the Internet GroupManagement Protocol (IGMP) for accessing the above-mentioned service hasbeen used, and include an URL capable of accessing the service and portinformation. A unicast address associated with a transport stream (TS)source may be optionally included.

“RTSPURL” indicates that the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) foraccessing the service has been used, and includes information of a URLcapable of accessing the service.

“AudioAttributes” includes not only an audio coding algorithm to be usedin the aforementioned service, but also objective information.“VideoAttributes” includes detailed information associated with videocoding to be used in the aforementioned service. The audio attributevalue and the video attribute value may also be used as characteristicidentification information of the content data in the multi-part channelinformation.

In the record of FIG. 14, “TextualID@ServiceName”,“DVBTriplet@OrigNetId”, “DVBTriplet@TSId”, and “DVBTriplet@ServiceId”information must be mandatorily contained. If“IPMulticastAddress@Source” is used, “IPMulticastAddresss@Address” and“IPmulticastAddress@Port” must be mandatorily contained in the record ofFIG. 14. The remaining information other than the above-mentionedinformation is optionally used.

The receiver receives the above-mentioned service discovery record, andstores a variety of information contained in the above-mentioned record,for example, content source identification information, content provideridentification information, content provision region identificationinformation, content data characteristic identification information,provider connection information, etc. If region identificationinformation, content genre identification information, and channel levelidentification information are additionally contained in theabove-mentioned record, the receiver also stores the above-mentionedadditional information. The receiver creates a channel map using theabove-mentioned stored information, and uses the channel map to make achannel distinction according to multi-part channel information.

The receiver analyzes the above-mentioned service discovery record, andconnects to a server of a content provider capable of providinguser-desired content data according to the analyzed result, so that itcan allow the user to watch the desired content data.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of areceiver according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The receiver includes a network interface 1502, IP manager 1504,application/UI manager 1506, a channel manager 1508, service informationdecoder 1510, service information database 1512, service discoverymanager 1514, service control manager 1516, CAS/DRM unit 1518, servicedelivery manager 1520, demultiplexer 1522, audio/video decoder 1524,display unit 1526, storage unit 1528, system manager 1530, storagemedium controller 1532, and storage medium 1534.

The network interface 1502 receives packets from a network and transmitspackets from the receiver to the network. The IP manager 1504 engages inpacket delivery from sources to destinations with respect to a packetwhich is received by the receiver and a packet which is transmitted bythe receiver. Also, the IP manager 1504 classifies received packets suchthat the received packets correspond to appropriate protocols.

The application/UI manager 1506 provides a Graphic User Interface (GUI)for the user using an On Screen Display (OSD), etc., and receives a keyinput from the user and performs an operation of the receiver based onthe key input. For example, if the application/UI manager 1506 receivesa key input for channel selection from the user, then it transmits thereceived key input to the channel manager 1508.

The channel manager 1508 creates a channel map. Also, the channelmanager 1508 selects a channel based on the key input received from theapplication/UI manager 1506, and controls the service discovery manager1514. The channel manager 1508 receives service information of theselected channel from the service information decoder 1510 and performssetting of an audio/video Packet Identifier (PID) of the selectedchannel in the demultiplexer 1522, etc. based on the received serviceinformation.

The service information decoder 1510 decodes service information such asProgram Specific Information (PSI). That is, the service informationdecoder 1510 receives and decodes a PSI section, Program and ServiceInformation Protocol (PSIP) section, DVB-Service Information (SI)section, etc. demultiplexed by the demultiplexer 1522.

The service information decoder 1510 decodes the received sections tocreate a database regarding the service information, and stores thedatabase regarding the service information in the service informationdatabase 1512.

The service discovery manager 1514 provides information required forselection of a service provider. If the service discovery manager 1514receives a signal for channel selection from the application/UI manager1506, then it searches for a corresponding service using the aboveservice information.

The service control manager 1516 takes charge of selection and controlof a service. For example, the service control manager 1516 performs theservice selection and control by using an IGMP or RTSP when the userselects a Live Broadcasting service as in an existing broadcastingsystem, and by using the RTSP when the user selects a service such asVideo On Demand (VOD). The RTSP can provide a trick mode for real-timestreaming.

A service-related packet received through the network interface 1502 andIP manager 1504 is transmitted to the CAS/DRM unit 1518. The CAS/DRMunit 1518 takes charge of Conditional Access System (CAS) and DigitalRights Management (DRM).

The service delivery manager 1520 takes charge of control of servicedata received. For example, the service delivery manager 1520 uses aReal-Time Transport Protocol (RTP)/RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) forcontrol of real-time streaming data. Because the real-time streamingdata is transmitted using the RTP, the service delivery manager 1520delivers the received data packet to the demultiplexer 1522 by parsingit according to the RTP. Also, the service delivery manager 1520 feedsinformation received from the network back to a service providing serverusing the RTCP.

The demultiplexer 1522 demultiplexes a received packet into audio data,video data, Program Specific Information (PSI) data, etc. and transmitsthe audio data, video data, PSI data, etc. to the video/audio decoder1524 and the service information decoder 1510, respectively.

The video/audio decoder 1524 decodes the video data and audio datareceived from the demultiplexer 1522. The video data decoded by thevideo/audio decoder 1524 is provided to the user through the displayunit 1526 and the audio data decoded thereby is provided to the userthrough a speaker (not shown).

The storage unit 1528 stores system setup data, etc. This storage unit1528 may be, for example, a NonVolatile RAM (NVRAM) or flash memory. Thesystem manager 1530 controls the entire operation of the receiver systemthrough power.

The storage medium controller 1532 controls the storage medium 1534 tostore video/audio data on the storage medium 1534 or read and reproducedata stored on the storage medium 1534. The storage medium 1534 receivesand stores the video/audio data from the video/audio decoder 1524 underthe control of the storage medium controller 1532.

The receiver connects to an entry point of an IPTV portal to receive apacket of a service provider discovery record as shown in FIG. 12, andthe network interface 1502 transmits the received packet to the IPmanager 1504. The IP manager 1504 determines whether the destination ofthe received packet is the receiver, and then transmits the receivedpacket to an appropriate manager block according to atransmission/reception protocol.

The packet including the service provider discovery information istransmitted using a protocol associated with service discovery andselection. For example, for DVB-IP, the packet is transmitted accordingto a Service Discovery & Selection (SD&S) protocol or Service DiscoveryProtocol (SDP). As a result, the IP manager 1504 transmits the packetincluding the service provider discovery information to the servicediscovery manager 1514.

The service discovery manager 1514 obtains various information of theservice provider discovery record included in the received packet byparsing that packet. Then, the service discovery manager 1514 transmitsthe obtained information to the service information database 1512 andstores it therein. This information includes region identificationinformation, provider identification information, channel levelidentification information, provider connection information, etc.

The receiver can receive a packet including service discoveryinformation from a service provider using service provider connectioninformation included in the service provider discovery record. Thepacket including the service discovery information istransmitted/received using the SD&S protocol (or SDP).

The packet including the service discovery information is transmitted tothe IP manager 1504 via the network interface 1502. The IP manager 1504determines whether the destination of the received packet is thereceiver, and then transmits the received packet to the servicediscovery manager 1514. The service discovery manager 1514 obtains theservice discovery information included in the received packet. Then, theservice discovery manager 1514 transmits the obtained information to theservice information database 1512 and stores it therein. Thisinformation includes provider identification information, regionidentification information, content source identification information,content genre identification information, content data characteristicidentification information, channel level identification information,provider connection information, etc.

The service information database 1512 stores and manages the receivedvarious information. The channel manager 1508 creates and manages achannel map using the various information stored in the serviceinformation database 1512. If multi-part channel information isinputted, the channel manager 1508 connects to a server in which acontent of a corresponding channel is stored, using the channel map, sothat the user can watch the content.

The application/UI manager 1506 receives channel informationcorresponding to a desired content from the user and controls a channelchange based on the channel map. That is, the application/UI manager1506 receives, from the user, multi-part channel informationcorresponding to a content that the user wants to watch, and performs achannel change to a channel corresponding to the received channelinformation based on the channel map. The received multi-part channelinformation may be a combination of numerals, a combination of numeralsand texts or a combination of texts.

For input of the multi-part channel information, the user may inputinformation of all parts of the multi-part channel informationpersonally or through a kind of guide menu using an OSD, such as an EPG.Alternatively, information that can be inputted for each part of themulti-part channel information may be displayed or sorted so as to beselected by the user. It is also possible to perform a fast searchoperation of, if a specific condition of a specific part is inputted,searching for a corresponding channel and allowing the user to selectit, or a search operation of, whenever information of each part isinputted, excluding channels that do not correspond to the inputtedinformation.

Any one of the various embodiments of the multi-part channel informationformats as stated above must be predefined in the receiver, and the userselects a desired channel according to the predefined format. Themulti-part channel information format in the receiver can be preset andused by the user. Alternatively, a format determined by convention, etc.may be used in common in all receivers.

The application/UI manager 1506 performs the channel changes andconnects to a server of the changed channel via the IP manager 1504 andnetwork interface 1502. A service stream provided from the server istransmitted to the IP manager 1504 via the network interface 1502. Then,the service stream is delivered to the demultiplexer 1522 via theCAS/DRM unit 1518 and service delivery manager 1520.

The demultiplexer 1522 demultiplexes the received stream and transmitsthe demultiplexed data to the audio/video decoder 1524. The audio/videodecoder 1524 transmits the decoded data to the display unit 1526 toprovide it to the user.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process ofprocessing multi-part channel information, according to one embodimentof the present invention. FIG. 16 shows the flow and sequence of signalsamong a service server, a server of a service provider, an entry pointof an IPTV portal, and a receiver. The service server refers to a serverthat stores contents. For the convenience of description, it is assumedthat the records described in FIG. 12 and FIG. 14 are used.

The receiver connects to the entry point of the IPTV portal, which isprovided by a network provider (S1600). The IPTV portal can checksubscription information, etc. of the connected receiver. That is, bychecking the subscription information, etc., the IPTV portal candetermine whether the receiver is a receiver capable of receiving aservice linked to the IPTV portal.

The entry point of the IPTV portal transmits a service providerdiscovery record including various information about the networkprovider or service provider to the receiver (S1602).

The receiver stores the various information included in the receivedservice provider discovery record (S1604). This information includesregion identification information, provider identification information,channel level identification information, provider connectioninformation, etc.

The receiver connects to the server of the service provider usingservice provider connection information among the aforementionedinformation (S1606). If there is a connection from the receiver, theserver of the service provider transmits a service discovery recordincluding various information about contents (S1608).

The receiver receives the service discovery record and stores thevarious information included in the received record (S1610). Thisinformation includes provider identification information, regionidentification information, content source identification information,content genre identification information, content data characteristicidentification information, channel level identification information,provider connection information, etc.

The receiver receives multi-part channel information of a contentdesired by the user and performs a channel change to a channelcorresponding to the received multi-part channel information using thestored various information. The received multi-part channel informationmay be a combination of numerals, a combination of numerals and texts ora combination of texts. Any one of the various embodiments of themulti-part channel information formats as stated above must bepredefined in the receiver, and the user selects a desired channelaccording to the predefined format.

If the user inputs the multi-part channel information of the desiredcontent, the receiver connects to a service server of the desiredcontent (S1612). The service server transmits a service data streaming,etc. to the connected receiver to start a service (S1614). The receiverdisplays data received from the service server to provide the service tothe user (S1616).

The multi-part channel information as described above is applicable notonly to IPTV systems such as DVB in Europe, ATIS in North America andIPTV of ITU-T, but also to all broadcasting systems capable of providingthe user with various broadcast contents in channel form.

As apparent from the above description, the channel informationprocessing method, broadcast contents receiving method and receiveraccording to the present invention have effects as follows. According tothe present invention, it is possible to easily distinguish variouscontent channels from one another. Further, using various informationabout channels, a channel information format can be edited and a desiredchannel can be readily searched for.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to makea channel distinction under the condition of utilizing existing channelnumbers used by content providers as they are.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A receiver comprising: a first manager for receiving a packetincluding service provider discovery information including serviceprovider identification information, and a packet including servicediscovery information including content provider identificationinformation and content service identification information andextracting the information included in the packets; a database forstoring the extracted information; a channel manager for creating andmanaging a channel map using the stored information; and a secondmanager for performing a control operation to form multi-part channelinformation using the identification information included in the serviceprovider discovery information and the identification informationincluded in the service discovery information and receive a contentservice of a channel corresponding to the multi-part channel informationwith reference to the channel map.
 2. The receiver according to claim 1,wherein the first manager further extracts at least one of networkprovider identification information, network provision regionidentification information and service provider service regionidentification information from the service provider discoveryinformation.
 3. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the firstmanager further extracts content service provision region identificationinformation from the content service identification information of theservice discovery information.
 4. The receiver according to claim 1,wherein the first manager further extracts content service existingchannel number identification information from the content serviceidentification information of the service discovery information.
 5. Thereceiver according to claim 1, wherein the first manager furtherextracts content source type identification information from the contentservice identification information of the service discovery information.6. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the first manager furtherextracts at least one of content genre identification information,content data characteristic identification information and channel levelidentification information from the content service identificationinformation of the service discovery information.
 7. The receiveraccording to claim 1, wherein one identification information is includedin each part of the multi-part channel information to identify a channelproviding a desired content service.
 8. A receiver comprising: a firstmanager for parsing a packet including at least one of contentinformation and provider information to extract the information includedin the packet; a database for storing the extracted content informationand provider information; a channel manager for creating and managing achannel map using the stored information; and a second manager forreceiving a plurality of channel identification information, formingmulti-part channel information using the received channel identificationinformation, and connecting to a content service server of a channelcorresponding to the multi-part channel information using the channelmap.
 9. The receiver according to claim 8, wherein the second managerconfigures the same number of channel information parts as that of thereceived channel identification information to form the multi-partchannel information.
 10. The receiver according to claim 8, wherein thesecond manager determines the number, order and attributes of parts ofthe multi-part channel information according to a preset channelinformation format.
 11. The receiver according to claim 8, wherein thesecond manager determines the number, order and attributes of parts ofthe multi-part channel information according to a user's selection. 12.The receiver according to claim 8, wherein the second manager includes,in the multi-part channel information, at least two of provideridentification information, region identification information, contentsource identification information, content genre identificationinformation, content data characteristic identification information,channel level identification information and existing channel numberidentification information.
 13. The receiver according to claim 12,wherein the provider identification information is at least one ofcontent provider identification information, service provideridentification information and network provider identificationinformation.
 14. The receiver according to claim 12, wherein the regionidentification information is at least one of content provision regionidentification information, service provision region identificationinformation, network provision region identification information anduser region identification information.
 15. The receiver according toclaim 8, wherein the channel identification information is any one ofnumeral information and text information.
 16. The receiver according toclaim 8, wherein information of each part of the multi-part channelinformation is inputted directly or through a guide menu.